Newsletter Digest
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Solo Founder Scales AI-Built Telehealth Startup to $1.8B in Sales
Matthew Gallagher launched telehealth startup Medvi with $20,000 and a stack of AI tools, scaling it to a projected $1.8 billion in annual sales — potentially the first real example of Sam Altman’s predicted one-person billion-dollar company. Gallagher used ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok for code, Midjourney and Runway for ad creatives, and ElevenLabs for customer service. The company pulled in $401 million in its first year selling GLP-1 drugs online, outsourcing medical operations to telehealth platforms CareValidate and OpenLoop. His only full-time hire is his brother, with contract engineers rounding out the team.
Source: The Rundown AI / NYT
OpenAI Acquires TBPN Talk Show in First Media Deal
OpenAI acquired TBPN, the daily live tech talk show popular with Silicon Valley CEOs, in a deal reportedly worth hundreds of millions — marking its first media acquisition. TBPN streams live every weekday on YouTube and X, drawing around 70,000 viewers per episode. The show’s 11-person team will report to OpenAI’s chief of global affairs Chris Lehane while retaining editorial independence. Co-founders Jordi Hays and John Coogan launched the show 17 months ago, and it is on pace for $30 million in annual revenue. The move gives OpenAI a direct channel to the tech industry’s most engaged audience.
Source: The Rundown AI / OpenAI
Google Releases Gemma 4 Open-Source AI Family Under Apache 2.0
Google DeepMind released its Gemma 4 family — four open-weight models ranging from phone-sized to desktop-scale — under an Apache 2.0 license for the first time, removing legal barriers that previously pushed enterprises toward Chinese alternatives like Qwen and Mistral. All four models handle code, vision, and multi-step agent tasks, with the smallest variants adding voice and running entirely offline on phones. The 31B and 26B models rival competitors like Kimi K2.5 and GLM-5 in intelligence at a fraction of the size. The permissive licensing marks a strategic shift as Chinese rivals move toward closed systems.
Source: The Rundown AI / Google
Google Plans Massive Texas Gas Plant to Power AI Data Center
Google plans to power a new AI data center in Texas with a gas plant that could emit roughly 4.5 million tons of CO₂ annually — more than San Francisco’s total yearly emissions. The company confirmed a partnership with Crusoe on the Goodnight data center campus, where Crusoe has filed for a 933 MW gas plant. The facility could cost nearly $30 billion, and unlike Google’s recent Illinois gas deal, this plant has no carbon capture technology. The move marks a sharp departure from Google’s 24/7 carbon-free energy goals, driven by AI’s surging power demands outpacing clean energy supply.
Source: The Rundown Tech / Wired
NASA’s Artemis II Launches First Crewed Moon Mission Since 1972
NASA’s Artemis II mission launched four astronauts on a 10-day looping flyby of the Moon, marking humanity’s first crewed deep-space voyage since Apollo 17 in 1972. The Space Launch System mega-rocket lifted off on April 1, with a translunar injection burn breaking the crew free of Earth orbit. Updated trajectory data puts the crew’s maximum distance at 252,021 miles from Earth, surpassing the Apollo 13 record by 3,366 miles. The lunar flyby is scheduled for April 6, when the crew will photograph far-side areas never directly seen by human eyes. The mission is critical to future Artemis lunar landing plans.
Source: The Rundown Tech / NASA
Amazon’s Project Kobe Takes on Walmart with Robot Superstores
Amazon is developing massive robot-heavy hybrid supercenters under an internal initiative called Project Kobe, with leaked documents revealing the scale of its play for Walmart’s grocery dominance. Each store would span 225,000 square feet, with nearly half dedicated to back-of-house robotics and fulfillment infrastructure. AutoStore robotic systems handle warehouse operations, while an AI tool called Frida automates local inventory decisions. The first approved site is in Orland Park, Illinois, with a late 2027 opening planned. Amazon and Whole Foods hold just 3% of the U.S. grocery market versus Walmart’s 21%, making this their most ambitious attempt to close the gap.
Trump Fires Attorney General Pam Bondi
President Trump announced on Truth Social that Attorney General Pam Bondi will be transitioning to the private sector. Reports indicate Trump was frustrated with her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and upset that she had not prosecuted more of his political opponents. Deputy AG Todd Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s personal criminal defense lawyer, will become acting attorney general. Bondi is the second Cabinet member fired in recent weeks, following Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s dismissal last month. The move raises questions about the independence and direction of the Justice Department under the new acting leadership.
Source: Morning Brew
Summer Travel Faces Crisis as Oil Prices Surge Amid Iran War
Americans are rethinking summer travel plans as jet fuel shortages from the Iran war push airlines to cut flights and raise fares. Delta reported that jet fuel costs jumped $400 million in March alone, and average global airfares surged 24% to $465 compared to last year. Transatlantic tickets now cost $200 more than a month ago. United is cutting roughly 5% of flights during off-peak periods, and the share of Americans planning international trips dropped to 17% — the lowest since 2022. Gas prices topped $4 a gallon this week, and budget airlines face even steeper pressure from rising fuel costs.
Source: Morning Brew
Tesla’s Q1 Deliveries Disappoint as EV Challenges Mount
Tesla delivered 358,000 cars last quarter, significantly undershooting Wall Street projections in what marked its second-worst quarter since 2022. The numbers were especially disappointing because Q1 2025 — the baseline comparison — was already weak due to partial production pauses and backlash over Elon Musk’s politics. Budget Model 3 and Y accounted for 95% of deliveries, while Cybertruck remained niche. Analysts blamed the slump on Tesla’s aging lineup, rising competition, and the loss of a $7,500 EV tax credit. The stock fell nearly 6%, though rising gas prices from the Iran war may be driving some consumers toward EVs from other makers.
Source: Morning Brew
Whoop Raises $575M, Reaches $10.1B Valuation
Whoop closed a massive $575 million Series G round that nearly triples its valuation to $10.1 billion, signaling the market’s confidence in its pivot from elite fitness tracker to full health platform. Abbott and Mayo Clinic joined as strategic investors alongside athletes Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, and Rory McIlroy. The platform already includes FDA-cleared ECG, blood pressure insights, and blood biomarker analysis. Whoop now counts 2.5 million members and exited 2025 with $1.1 billion in annualized bookings, up 103% year over year. However, the FDA’s 2025 warning letter over blood pressure claims hints at regulatory hurdles ahead.
Source: The Rundown Tech / BusinessWire